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The FNS goal was to document the process (steps, time, and resources) for fully implementing Team Nutrition by communicating the four messages to students using the classroom and cafeteria as delivery channels, as well as other places in their environment such as the school, home, community and local media.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service conducted the three-year pilot from school year (SY) 2000–2001 through SY 2002–2003. The aim of this pilot was to study the impact of the availability of universal-free school breakfast on breakfast participation and measures related to elementary school students’ nutritional status and academic performance. This pilot was not intended to evaluate the current SBP or the value of consuming breakfast.

The rules that govern eligibility for food stamps among legal immigrants have changed several times in recent years. Most recently, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 restored food stamp eligibility to legal immigrants who: were disabled, regardless of date of entry, effective October 2002; had been in the United States at least five years, effective April 2003; or were children age, regardless of date of entry, effective October 2003. This study – conducted by The Urban Institute for the Food and Nutrition Service -- examines the implementation of these provisions to improve our understanding of the variation in State and local approaches, the challenges encountered in restoring eligibility, the degree to which the eligibility restorations brought new immigrant households into the program; and the potential impacts of sponsor deeming and
liability policies.

In this report we discuss our progress in deriving state participation rates for the working poor. We build upon recent studies examining national participation rates for socioeconomic and demographic subgroups and rates for states among the entire eligible population.

On average, about 21.3 million people living in 9.2 million households received food stamps in the United States each month in FY 2003. Food stamp households are a diverse group. Because food stamps are available to most low-income households with few resources, regardless of age, disability status, or family structure, recipients represent a broad cross-section of the nation's poor. This report provides information about the demographic and economic circumstances of food stamp households. Annual quality control data used to produce this report can be found using the link below.

The Food and Nutrition Service conducts a variety of studies, evaluations, and related activities that respond to the needs of policy makers and managers and help ensure that nutrition assistance programs achieve their goals effectively. These plans provide short descriptions of projects that have been or will be funded in each fiscal year.

The Food Stamp Program (FSP) helps low-income individuals purchase food so that they can obtain a nutritious diet. The number of eligible individuals served in an average month by the FSP increased from 16.9 million in 2001 to 18.7 million participants in 2002, an increase of over 10 percent. Most individuals are eligible for the program if their financial resources fall below certain income and asset thresholds. Not all of those who are eligible participate in the program, however. Some choose not to participate, while others are unaware that they are eligible. The food stamp participation rate — the percentage of eligible people who actually participate in the FSP — is an important measure of how well the program is reaching its target population. This report presents estimated participation rates for 2002 and revised estimates of rates for 1999, 2000, and 2001.

WIC encourages breastfeeding as the best source of infant nutrition and currently earmarks funds for breastfeeding promotion and support activities. However, while a great deal of breastfeeding promotion and support is happening in WIC at both the state and local levels, there has been no systematic effort to evaluate what might work best in the WIC setting. Within this context, the Food and Nutrition Service contracted with Abt Associates Inc. for a breastfeeding intervention design study with the following goals: Identify interventions to increase the incidence, duration and intensity of breastfeeding among women participating in WIC; and Design an evaluation plan to examine the implementation and effectiveness of these interventions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sponsored the NSLP Application/Verification Pilot Projects to test ways to improve the process for certifying students for free or reduced-price meals. This report presents findings on the impacts of two alternatives to the current application-based certification process - Up-Front Documentation and Graduated Verification - that were tested in 12 public school districts over a three-year period.

This report is the first step in the developing recommendations for revision to the WIC food packages. It reviews the nutritional needs and assesses the dietary adequacy of the WIC target population and proposes priority nutrients and food groups and general nutrition recommendations for the WIC food packages. This is a report of the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (Food and Nutrition Board), published here by permission. It is also available on the Institute of Medicine website.